Vegetable Tomato Sauce

We had some bits of grilled zucchini, tomato, onion, and bell pepper leftover from the kabobs earlier this week, so we decided to make this sauce and serve it over pasta, with a big green salad on the side.  I'm always happy when I get to make use of leftovers like this!

Other cooked/grilled vegetables that would be equally tasty: eggplant, squash, fennel, celery, carrots, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, or cauliflower.  You need about one cup total, chopped or sliced.

I pretty much followed Bittman's recipe exactly, except that we added some minced garlic about a minute before we added the tomatoes.

He says this recipe makes enough sauce to coat about a pound of pasta.  Not for me!  I'm one of those people who like just a little pasta with their sauce, not the other way around.  I like there to be extra sauce left on the plate after the noodles are gone so I can mop it up with a big hunk of crusty bread.  So if you are one of those people, it might only coat half a pound of pasta.  Either way, the end result is a thick, chunky, delicious sauce that is very simple and quick to make.

Fast Vegetable Tomato Sauce
adapted from Mark Bittman - How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
Serves 4, enough for one pound of pasta (unless you like a lot of sauce, like I do, and then it might only coat half a pound)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced, if you want
One 24- to 32-ounce can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped or sliced cooked vegetables
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Chopped parsley or fresh basil leaves for garnish (optional)

Add the oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat.  When hot, add the onion.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for a couple of minutes, until soft.  Add the garlic, if using, and cook for another minute.  Add the tomatoes and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper.

Let the tomatoes cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  They will break apart and the mixture will thicken during this time.  Add the vegetables, and cook until heated through.

Taste, adjust the seasoning as necessary, and immediately toss with pasta, or spoon over polenta, spaghetti squash, chicken, etc.  The possibilities are kind of endless with this one.  You can also make this ahead of time and refrigerate for up to several days until ready to use, just reheat gently before serving.

Beer-Glazed Black Beans

This weekend my sister Jamie and her boyfriend Matt came down to visit.  We had a great time giving him the tour of downtown Corvallis, making the rounds through all of our favorite local shops.  Back at our place we played a rousing game of 10,000 (Joe won) before starting dinner.  They brought marinated chicken, tofu, and veggies to grill, and I made beer-glazed black beans to go with.

I use canned black beans a lot, but lately I've started using dried ones more and more.  I really do think they taste better, and they are so cheap!  That morning, we rinsed them and picked out any weird looking, shriveled beans and/or rocks, and started them soaking in a pot with cold water.  About 8 hours later, we gently boiled them until they were tender (checking every 10 minutes, as they go from tender to mushy very quickly).  Then we just added little salt and pepper and they were ready to go.  We cooked a whole pound of beans, even though we only needed three cups of cooked beans for the recipe.  The extra cooked beans were put into a Tupperware container (adding water to cover), and stuffed into the freezer, ready to be used for another meal.

We used a Hefeweizen for the beer, but you could also use a lager, stout, or porter.  The lighter beers add more of a fruity flavor to the dish, while the dark beers add a deep, caramelized flavor.

Beer-Glazed Black Beans
adapted from Mark Bittman - How to Cook Everything Vegetarian
Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup beer
3 cups cooked or canned black beans, drained but still moist (could also use pinto beans or black-eyes peas instead)
1 tablespoon chili powder or ground cumin
1 tablespoon honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Add the oil to a large skillet and heat to medium-high.  Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  When the onion has softened, add the garlic, cook for another minute or so, then add all the remaining ingredients, including a good sprinkling of salt and pepper.  

Let the mixture come up to steady simmer, and cook for about 15 minutes.  The liquid will reduce and the mixture will thicken.  Check back often to make sure the liquid doesn't boil away too rapidly.

Taste, adjust seasoning if necessary, and serve hot.  This dish can also be made ahead of time, stored in the fridge for up to three days, and reheated before serving.

Cranberry Flax Muffins

This is one of my favorite muffin recipes.  I make these every chance I get, not only because they are yummy and healthy, but because last year in our CSA we got a TON of flaxseed, so I'm always looking for ways to use it.  This time I made them for my friend Shelly for her birthday.  She enjoys eating healthy, organic food as much as I do.  Her husband even refers to me as her "organic food twin".

Don't judge the recipe by the look of these muffins - I forgot to add baking soda so they didn't rise very much.  It didn't seem to effect the flavor, they just look kind of squatty.

This recipe mostly uses ingredients you could theoretically have on hand in your pantry at all times, except, in my case, for the buttermilk.  I never have buttermilk, and I hate buying a whole carton of it for one recipe.  That's why I always keep a tub of dehydrated cultured buttermilk in the fridge.  It seems to keep forever, and it's a great substitute for baking and cooking when the recipe calls for liquid buttermilk (it won't work for dressings though).  You can find it in the baking aisle.

There are also a ton of ways to modify this recipe.  I've linked to the original recipe below, and if you go there you'll see a bunch of comments from people describing the different things they have done to change the recipe.  Some add shredded carrots, some use blueberries instead of dried cranberries, some use applesauce instead of the oil, etc.  One of these days maybe I'll try a variation, but the original is just so good!
         

Cranberry Flax Muffins
adapted from AllRecipes.com
makes about 18 muffins

1 1/2 cups bran flakes cereal
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 cup 1% buttermilk
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries
2 tablespoons whole flax seed

Preheat oven to 375.  Prepare your muffin pan by either spraying the cups with nonstick spray or setting a paper liner into each cup.

Combine the first nine ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl.

In another large bowl, whisk together the egg, egg whites, buttermilk, honey, and oil, then stir into the dry ingredients until just moistened.  Stir in the cranberries.

Fill the muffin cups 2/3 full with batter.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing the muffins to a wire rack.